Inspired by an American vegetarian acquaintance,
she had recently started experimenting with vegetarian versions of traditional Peranakan
dishes.
“No, of course not! All the people coming are Christians!”
Aunty Lee was always open to learning new things about her customers’ beliefs.
“Some Hindus and Buddhists are vegetarian for religious reasons but there are vegetarian
Christians too, right?”
“Oh, I daresay there are some weirdos. But don’t worry, you can prepare normal food.
Lennie would scream if anybody tried to make him eat vegetarian!”
“And Lennie is . . .”
“Leonard is Mabel’s son.” GraceFaith lowered her voice slightly. “He is having some
health issues, so praying for him is the main focus of Never Say Die now.”
Aunty Lee had heard of Never Say Die, a group that conducted focused prayer and active
healing sessions. Indeed her late husband had been invited to join the group after
his cancer was diagnosed but had dismissed them as “rich camels.”
“I remember you, you came to my shop to make the booking for Mabel,” Aunty Lee said
to GraceFaith. “You look very nice, by the way. So many young girls these days don’t
bother to dress up nicely. Just now you said you are part of that Never Die group.
What is wrong with you?”
“Never Say Die. It’s a prayer and healing group that Mabel joined when her son got
sick. She got the staff at the law firm to join too, to pray for him.” GraceFaith’s
eyes roamed the growing number of guests as she spoke till they settled on Henry Sung,
who was talking to an older woman at the foot of the stairs. Henry was still holding
the tray of food his wife had prepared for their son. Mabel was nowhere to be seen.
“Excuse me.”
As she watched GraceFaith heading toward them Aunty Lee wondered why the woman Henry
Sung was talking to looked so familiar. The woman caught Aunty Lee’s eye and waved
at her with apparent delight, gesturing for her to join them. Aunty Lee waved back
but stayed put and tried to look busy. She would try to recall the woman’s name before
they met up.
6
Sudden Death
Looking back on events later, Aunty Lee decided the real excitement of the day had
begun with the commotion at the back gate. There was shouting followed by a painful
crash as Henry Sung dropped the tray of food he was balancing on the stair rail. Aunty
Lee winced for her dishes but hurried away to the gate which Edmond Yong was trying
to slide shut despite the man’s arm caught in its heavy metal frame.
GraceFaith ran up and pulled him away. “Stop it. Edmond, are you mad? Stop it!”
“He’s a troublemaker,” Edmond Yong said.
“You’re going to break his arm! Stop it!” GraceFaith pushed Edmond Yong away and released
the man’s arm. “What do you want? This is a private function.”
The newcomer also looked familiar to Aunty Lee. Was this the beginning of Alzheimer’s?
Aunty Lee put the thought aside as she pushed her way through the murmuring guests
to get a better look at him. Yes, the man definitely looked familiar, but unlike the
woman with Henry Sung, he did not seem to recognize her.
“I need to speak to Mr. or Mrs. Sung,” the man said. “I tried calling their offices
but I couldn’t get through to them. It’s about a friend of mine who’s missing. He
was working on a project here. His name is Benjamin Ng.”
“No one here by that name,” Edmond Yong said. He sounded like a schoolboy bully. Aunty
Lee thought he had probably been bullied in school and was getting his own back. “You
are trespassing. You better just get out of here before we call the police!”
“Wait. Please,” the man said. “I know he was here working on something. Is he still
here? I just need to reach him. Or can they get a message to him at least?”
“What is the message?” Aunty Lee asked helpfully and hopefully. She had no idea who
Benjamin Ng might be but she intended
she had recently started experimenting with vegetarian versions of traditional Peranakan
dishes.
“No, of course not! All the people coming are Christians!”
Aunty Lee was always open to learning new things about her customers’ beliefs.
“Some Hindus and Buddhists are vegetarian for religious reasons but there are vegetarian
Christians too, right?”
“Oh, I daresay there are some weirdos. But don’t worry, you can prepare normal food.
Lennie would scream if anybody tried to make him eat vegetarian!”
“And Lennie is . . .”
“Leonard is Mabel’s son.” GraceFaith lowered her voice slightly. “He is having some
health issues, so praying for him is the main focus of Never Say Die now.”
Aunty Lee had heard of Never Say Die, a group that conducted focused prayer and active
healing sessions. Indeed her late husband had been invited to join the group after
his cancer was diagnosed but had dismissed them as “rich camels.”
“I remember you, you came to my shop to make the booking for Mabel,” Aunty Lee said
to GraceFaith. “You look very nice, by the way. So many young girls these days don’t
bother to dress up nicely. Just now you said you are part of that Never Die group.
What is wrong with you?”
“Never Say Die. It’s a prayer and healing group that Mabel joined when her son got
sick. She got the staff at the law firm to join too, to pray for him.” GraceFaith’s
eyes roamed the growing number of guests as she spoke till they settled on Henry Sung,
who was talking to an older woman at the foot of the stairs. Henry was still holding
the tray of food his wife had prepared for their son. Mabel was nowhere to be seen.
“Excuse me.”
As she watched GraceFaith heading toward them Aunty Lee wondered why the woman Henry
Sung was talking to looked so familiar. The woman caught Aunty Lee’s eye and waved
at her with apparent delight, gesturing for her to join them. Aunty Lee waved back
but stayed put and tried to look busy. She would try to recall the woman’s name before
they met up.
6
Sudden Death
Looking back on events later, Aunty Lee decided the real excitement of the day had
begun with the commotion at the back gate. There was shouting followed by a painful
crash as Henry Sung dropped the tray of food he was balancing on the stair rail. Aunty
Lee winced for her dishes but hurried away to the gate which Edmond Yong was trying
to slide shut despite the man’s arm caught in its heavy metal frame.
GraceFaith ran up and pulled him away. “Stop it. Edmond, are you mad? Stop it!”
“He’s a troublemaker,” Edmond Yong said.
“You’re going to break his arm! Stop it!” GraceFaith pushed Edmond Yong away and released
the man’s arm. “What do you want? This is a private function.”
The newcomer also looked familiar to Aunty Lee. Was this the beginning of Alzheimer’s?
Aunty Lee put the thought aside as she pushed her way through the murmuring guests
to get a better look at him. Yes, the man definitely looked familiar, but unlike the
woman with Henry Sung, he did not seem to recognize her.
“I need to speak to Mr. or Mrs. Sung,” the man said. “I tried calling their offices
but I couldn’t get through to them. It’s about a friend of mine who’s missing. He
was working on a project here. His name is Benjamin Ng.”
“No one here by that name,” Edmond Yong said. He sounded like a schoolboy bully. Aunty
Lee thought he had probably been bullied in school and was getting his own back. “You
are trespassing. You better just get out of here before we call the police!”
“Wait. Please,” the man said. “I know he was here working on something. Is he still
here? I just need to reach him. Or can they get a message to him at least?”
“What is the message?” Aunty Lee asked helpfully and hopefully. She had no idea who
Benjamin Ng might be but she intended
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